Originally Posted by
fishfly
No worries about being a downer! It's actually sobering and more helpful! Transportation is definitely our biggest issue. It's hard to gauge just how much time it will get from Point A to Point B- even harder in unfamiliar places.
Seems like we'd need to schedule a taxi to get to either of these places. I mentioned the two parks because hiking and wilderness backpacking are what we're familiar. Obviously overnight camping in international forest would be no go (that'd be really cool tho!) so I figured hikes national parks would be nice. I like the Khao Sam Roi Yot itinerary to visit a refuge. Would you recommend flying into another airport?
I would say the main reason transportation is an issue is because of your very limited time. You have to be very organized, have most everything pre-planned, and move efficiently. You can't really afford to fly into Bangkok and then look for a ride afterwards. I would recommend flying into Bangkok, because that's where your flights from Da Nang (or maybe Van Don) will fly to.
Khao Yai does have camping, but then what is your taxi driver going to do? Sleep in the tent next to yours? He/She will need to pick you up the next day. Also Thailand is similar to Vietnam in that there are not taxis everywhere. Your taxi to the jungle may just end up being a guy driving you around that was contracted out by your hotel/tour booker. This driver will need to understand that you wish to go out hiking for a few hours and he/she will need to wait for you. This service exists, you just need to make sure the driver knows this, which will be difficult if they can't speak English.
Maybe somebody else will reply that has a bit more knowledge on doing the national parks without a car, or give other hiking recommendations that are not in a national park and not too far from Bangkok.
To completely change the story, how about flying from Hanoi to Chiang Mai and completely skipping Bangkok? Lots of jungle trekking there, good food variety, international airport, lower prices than Bangkok.